| ReBoot Episode | |
| |
| Megabyte confronts Dot | |
| The Tearing | |
|---|---|
| Episode no. | 1.01 |
| Written by | Mark Hoffmeier |
| Story by | Lane Raichert, Mark Hoffmeier |
| Original Airdate | 7 September 1994 |
| Prev.: N/A | Next: Racing the Clock | |
| View Episode List. | |
Summary
Virus Megabyte plans to conquer the Super Computer by manipulating Guardian Bob into stabilizing a tear.
Plot
As Hack and Slash pursue Bob on separate ABC vehicles, Bob exploits their "low clockspeed" and easily tricks them into a collision. Megabyte, watching the chase unfold from afar, decides to intervene remotely. He contacts Bob via VidWindow to reiterate his request for a "simple favor." When Bob dismisses him, Megabyte ominously hints at the potential consequences for Bob's friends if he refuses to comply.
The next morning, Enzo urgently contacts Bob with a report that Dot's Diner is experiencing downtime. Bob hurries over, and Enzo explains that a surge of goons have vandalized the establishment. Bob confides in Dot about Megabyte's demand, insisting he'll figure it out. Dot firmly reminds him that Mainframe is not the Super Computer where Bob originates; if one Mainframer faces a problem with a virus, then they all do, and they must stick together in never yielding to someone like Megabyte. Soon after, Megabyte appears via VidWindow, and is immediately met with hostility from Dot. In response, Megabyte mockingly offers to help with the clean up effort before reminding Bob of his ultimatum.
Suddenly, the System Voice announces an incoming Game Cube. Megabyte views this event as an advantage, and sends an order for legion units to prevent Bob from entering the Game. After being successfully blocked, Bob is left waiting for the outcome. The Game Over with confirmation that the User won is announced as the Cube exits and nullifies the sector it landed on. Angry for being robbed of the chance to win the game and save the sector, Bob is ready to face Megabyte. However, Dot requests he instead seek Phong's guidance.
Frustrated, Bob makes his way to the Principal Office, where Phong warns him not to heed Megabyte and advises him against visiting the Silicon Tor alone. Although Bob reassures Phong he'll seek help, he rashly makes his way to Megabyte unaccompanied.
When Bob arrives at the Tor, he is greeted by Megabyte, who welcomes him inside. Meanwhile, Phong, predicting that the bold young sprite has taken it upon himself to resolve the issue without assistance, contacts Dot to inform her of Bob's actions.
Inside the Tor, Megabyte leads Bob to the lower levels where a tear is present. Bob inspects the tear using his Glitch tool, and Megabyte reveals his favor: to stabilize the tear into a portal to the Super Computer. Although Bob refuses, he is ultimately left helpless when Megabyte ensnares him with a binding device. Moments later, Hack and Slash interrupt, having captured Dot on the premises. Bob seizes the opportunity and improvises a way to make the tear even more unstable. As Megabyte commands his henchbots to secure the tear, which begins to destabilize the surrounding area, Bob and Dot attempt to escape via the elevator to the upper levels. However, Megabyte blocks their path just as a Game Cube lands directly on the Tor, trapping them all inside.
Inside the Game, Space Race, Megabyte infects the User and heads toward the tear, knowing that the Game energy will stabilize it into a portal. Bob and Dot reboot and pursue him through the levels, eventually catching up. Bob ejects from his space vehicle and reaches the portal first, ending the Game and blocking Megabyte’s access to the Super Computer.
When the Game lifts, Dot and Megabyte find themselves in the lower levels of the Tor with the unstable tear. Megabyte threatens Dot, but before he can act, the tear becomes a portal, and Bob emerges before quickly sealing it behind him. When Megabyte demands to know where the portal went, Bob cryptically mentions learning new commands at the Super Computer armory before he and Dot vanish.
Disguised by Hidden File Commands, Bob and Dot escape back to the ruined Diner, where he reflects on the Mainframe philosophy: "If [Megabyte] messes with one of us, he messes with all of us."
Gallery
References
- This is the first episode of ReBoot.
- The 8-ball outside Bob's apartment rotates like a Union 76 ball.
- Bob has a picture of the Super Computer on his wall with the caption "Home Sweet Home," nodding to the end of the episode when he refers to Mainframe as his Home Sweet Home.
- Bob's alarm clock is set for 8:08, which coincidentally spells out "BOB" in Leet.
- According to Gavin Blair, Cecil is named after a strip club in Vancouver, Canada. This explains why the character hangs from a brass rail.
- Cecil is modeled after the 1984 Mac/Macintosh personal computer by Apple Inc., featuring a design that includes a rainbow color scheme for his reboot icon.
- Phong challenges Bob to a brain exercising competition that alludes to the Atari arcade videogame 'Pong,' released in 1972 and created by Allan Alcorn.
- The viral battleship is an altered Zeon Musai from Mobile Suit Gundam.
- When Dot blows up the viral battleship, for a single frame, you clearly see an X-Ray of her face.
- There is a sign on a vehicle saying "Two Small Sprites with Big CPUs Transfer Co." which refers to the 'Two Small Men With Big Hearts Moving Company' of Vancouver, Canada.
- Phong speaks of the COMMAND.COM. A reference to the command processor for Microsoft's MS-DOS, the program that outputs the well-known "C:\>" prompt.
- Phong mentions "There is an old README file that says: 'You should keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.'" A paraphrase from an ancient Chinese book of war tactics by Sun Tzu, called 'The Art of War'.
- In the Space Race Game, Bob commands the fleet saying: "Alpha wing clear of deck; proceed heading 1138. Stay frosty." this is a reference to 'THX 1138' by George Lucas.
- This is the only season opener in which Hexadecimal does not appear; she would not be introduced until the next episode.
- On the DVD commentary on the Definitive Mainframe Edition DVD boxset, it's mentioned that The Tearing went over budget by around half a million dollars. Due to the ongoing budget issues - as nobody knew how much the show would cost - in the early days of producing Reboot, the staff were being paid in hundred dollars bills that a producer had borrowed from another company.
- This episode marks the first time when the User wins a Game.
- A High Definition Remaster of this episode was released on Mainframe Studios' YouTube channel on September 11, 2024.